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[Webshaykh’s note: Dr. Saad Sowayan, as the post below will explain, has been collecting, analyzing and documenting the oral poetic traditions of the Arabian Peninsula, especially his native Saudi Arabia, since his graduate research. He has now completed two major works, available for reading on the internet, but still in search of an appropriate publisher. I invite readers to look over his impressive documentation and analysis and communicate with Dr. Sowayan any ideas that may help forward his project.]

by Dr. Saad Sowayan, King Saud University

After 10 years of continuous hard work, I managed to finish the two books, which, taking the size and importance of each, I consider to be my lifetime projects.
A) Legends & Oral Historical Narrative from Northern Arabia (1131 pages)
B) The Arabian Desert: Its Poetry & Culture Across the Ages: An Anthropological Approach (820 pages).

The first work, as its title says, is a collection of Bedouin narratives and poems relating to tribal genealogies, camel marks, tribal territories, water wells, sheikhs, warriors, tribal judges, tribal poets, personal histories, as well as narratives relating to raids and counter raids amongst tribes and other events. All of these are told by competent narrators & reciters in the various tribal dialects and all go back to pre and early 20th century. I have been engaged in taping this voluminous material during the span of the 4 years extending from 1982 up to 1985. Since 1995 I have been engaged in archiving, indexing, transcribing and editing this taped material which came to a total of several hundred hours of recorded interviews. Legends & Oral Historical Narratives from Northern Arabia (1131 pages) is the result of this effort very carefully transcribed and edited in Arabic script with full voweling tashkeel. The work comes with a very detailed table of contents and an introduction explaining the nature of the material along with some linguistic remarks and explanation of the transcription method I used. All in all, the work is a primary source on Arabian nomadic tribal culture, oral literature and vernacular language. This work constitutes a compliment to the works of P. Marcel Kurpershoek published in English by Brill in Leiden. (more…)

Virginity, at least when it comes to the female of the species, is one of the most critical ethical melting points of societies in which females are burdened with a symbolic honor that denies their own control over their own bodies. The Virgin Mary in Christian theology remains a virgin, since the heavenly father of Jesus had no earthly form with which to impregnate her. Much is made in the media today about honor killings in Mediterranean societies, and in areas where more conservative forms of Islam merge with patriarchal ideology, like Pakistan and Afghanistan. Since the self righteous males who guard their sisters hymens but frequently dally with the hymens of other men’s sisters or daughters are not likely to go feminist and vote pro-choice, women must either remain strict virgins (and hope that they are not one of those women who are born with perforated hymens quite naturally) or find some chicken blood. But now the Japanese and Chinese have a more sanitary solution: a kit that allows a woman to insert an artificial hymen in only five minutes.

Where do you find such a product? It is widely sold in the Middle East, but those in America have only to click on Gigimo.com to find a Japanese kit available for $29.90 (or “suggest a price”). (more…)

Flooding in Mecca in 1941, in which the circumambulation had to be swum

In many parts of the Middle East, where water is not an easily accessible resource, rain is baraka. The Arabic term baraka is only vaguely understood in the English sense of “blessing,” the lexical translation. Context makes this heaven-sent product a blessing some times and a curse other times. Pilgrims to Mecca this year have witnessed torrential rain, dampening the make-shift hotel tents and ihram garb, but perhaps not the enthusiasm of the hajjis and hajjiyyas. An article on today’s Al-Jazeera website notes that about three million Muslims are performing the pilgrimage; as for the number of umbrellas being used, Allahu a’lama. Normally, extra rain in the arid environs of Mecca and Medina would seem something to evoke al-hamdillah from the faithful, but in this case timing is a problem. Some 50 people have already been killed due to these rains, and the fear of spreading disease during an already concurrent high flu season is no doubt troubling to the health officials. The H1N1 flu has already claimed four pilgrims and some 67 have been diagnosed with the virus. Perhaps the Egyptian government missed a few of those dangerous swine of the Christian Zabbalin.

So if one assumes that this ordained ritual is important in the eyes of Allah, an old and nagging question arises: why does the rain fall on the just as well as the unjust. This ethical dilemma played out on the monotheistic stage has a long history. In the Gospels Jesus reminded his followers that God is an equal opportunity Creator: (more…)

by Gregory D Johnsen, The National, November 12, 2009

Last week, the sporadic five-year long war between the Yemeni government and Houthi fighters in the country’s north finally spilled over the border into Saudi Arabia. The conflict has been steadily escalating since the Yemeni government resumed fighting in August after more than a year of fragile calm. Leaving no doubt as to its intentions, the government calls the present campaign “Operation Scorched Earth”: the fighting has already produced thousands of internal refugees and spread outward from the northern governorate of Sadaa, where the Houthi rebels are based.

Like much of the conflict, the clashes that began on November 4 are clouded by conflicting and contradictory reports. The Houthis claim that they were responding to repeated strikes by the Yemeni military, which was using Saudi territory as a rear base to launch flanking manoeuvres into Sadaa. Saudi Arabia contends that it was responding to incursions by the Yemeni rebels, and both sides insist that the other fired the first shots.

But whatever the sequence of events, the skirmishes mark a major escalation in the messy and murky guerrilla war that has only become more intense – and drawn in an increasing number of players – since its start in 2004. The Saudis deployed troops to their southern border, where they launched air and ground assaults on pockets of Houthi fighters, purportedly to drive them back into Yemen. The intervention was meant to be a limited one – and the Saudis claim they only attacked positions on their side of the border – but it is doubtful, having joined the fray, that they will be able to extricate themselves easily. (more…)

Digging up the Saudi past: Some would rather not

by Donna Abu-nasr, AP, August 30th, 2009

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Much of the world knows Petra, the ancient ruin in modern-day Jordan that is celebrated in poetry as “the rose-red city, ‘half as old as time,’” and which provided the climactic backdrop for “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”

But far fewer know Madain Saleh, a similarly spectacular treasure built by the same civilization, the Nabateans.

That’s because it’s in Saudi Arabia, where conservatives are deeply hostile to pagan, Jewish and Christian sites that predate the founding of Islam in the 7th century.

But now, in a quiet but notable change of course, the kingdom has opened up an archaeology boom by allowing Saudi and foreign archaeologists to explore cities and trade routes long lost in the desert.

The sensitivities run deep. Archaeologists are cautioned not to talk about pre-Islamic finds outside scholarly literature. Few ancient treasures are on display, and no Christian or Jewish relics. A 4th or 5th century church in eastern Saudi Arabia has been fenced off ever since its accidental discovery 20 years ago and its exact whereabouts kept secret. (more…)

Destruction of a minaret in the recent fighting at Sa’da, Yemen

by Hakim Almasmari, Yemen Post, August 31, 2009

With every day that passes, we come close to believe that the war in Sa’ada is a Saudi-Iranian war, not a Yemeni one.
Both foreign countries are desperate for more regional power while both are also worried of losing greatly. Saudi Arabia does not want Houthis controlling northern parts of Yemen for one main reason; southern Saudi has a large number of Shiite’s which could make them turn against their country as well. Saudi also fears that Shiite’s already have a militant group in the north of Arabia (Hezbollah), and are now looking for one in the south of Arabia (Houthis). Saudi Arabia paid billions of dollars to keep Hezbollah out of rule in Lebanon and somewhat came out victorious for the meantime, and is doing the same in Yemen. (more…)

Under the Veil, Nip and Tuck Makes New Saudi Faces

Asharq Alawsat, March 8, 2009

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, (AP) — Does Islam frown on nose jobs? Chemical peels? How about breast implants?

One of the clerics with the answers is Sheik Mohammed al-Nujaimi, and Saudi women flock to him for guidance about going under the knife. The results may not see much light of day in a kingdom where women cover up from head to toe, yet cosmetic surgery is booming.

Religion covers every facet of life in Saudi Arabia, including plastic surgery. Al-Nujaimi draws his guidelines from the consensus that was reached three years ago when clergymen and plastic surgeons met in Riyadh to determine whether cosmetic procedures violate the Islamic tenet against tampering God’s creation. (more…)

Given the economy, you may not be planning any trips this summer or anytime soon. But who would not like to take a tour of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul? No problem, you can do it for free. Just go to this website (http://www.3dmekanlar.com/topkapi_palace.htm), download and start clicking away. And when you exhaust that, check out a number of major Islamic sites that are yours for digital pleasure.

Reforming Islamic family law within the religious framework: the « best practices » strategy
by Khalid Chraibi

Many people in the Muslim world believe, wrongly, that shari’ah is a compilation of legal rules which are uniformly applied in all Muslim countries. But, the facts are otherwise: these rules vary significantly from one country to another, as well as over time. As a result, the status of women in Muslim countries, which is ruled by shari’ah, differs in many ways from one country to another. On any given issue, some national “personal status codes” grant more rights to women or better protect their interests than other codes.

According to feminine NGOs working in the field of Muslim women’s rights, if Governments accepted to apply the more favourable rules on any Islamic family law issue (designated as the “best practices”), this would contribute significantly to the reform of family law “within the religious framework”, bringing it closer to contemporary international standards. (more…)

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology created an interactive map of its unfinished campus.

Saudi University, Not Yet Complete, Shows Itself Off With an Interactive Map

by Lawrence Biemiller, The Wired Campus, November 24, 2005

Recruiting students and faculty members for a university whose campus is still under construction isn’t easy, even if the university has $10-billion at its disposal. So officials at Saudi Arabia’s new King Abdullah University of Science and Technology — known as Kaust — commissioned an interactive map that lets users click on icons and see images of the facilities that will be constructed.

The university, due to open next year, will offer graduate-level research programs open to both men and women. Its 8,900-acre campus, located on the Red Sea, has been planned by HOK Architects. (more…)